Feature: Boring textbooks are history

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (The Exponent) – Remember the days of high school when most of us were inundated with heaps of textbooks that offered nothing but dry explanations of concepts to memorize and regurgitate for a test? At Purdue, those days are over.

History classes at Purdue utilize integrative techniques implemented to clinch the attention of students. Students are taught how to learn and critical thinking is more highly celebrated than the ability to remember minute facts.

Although high school classes are primarily taught with a textbook as the only source, at Purdue, classes are enriched by primary source documents and case studies, literary fiction or scholarly journal articles or other non-fiction historical accounts.

“Through my assignments, I encourage students to challenge the textbook and bring up new perspectives the textbook many overlook in ways that help them bring their own analytical skills to historical discovery and interpretation,” said Kathryn Brownell, assistant professor of history.